1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for detecting and clearing jams and particularly to an apparatus for detecting and clearing a jam of articles at the entrance to an article lane divider.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the usual article packing line, articles such as bottles travel on a conveyor to an article lane divider where the articles to be packed are grouped within lanes for packing, such as for example, in a cardboard carton. The articles traveling on the conveyor frequently jam up at the entrance to the article lane divider, thereby resulting in a blocking condition which prevents articles from entering the lane divider and hence from being grouped for the packing machine. Ordinarily, the line must be shut down until the jam is cleared. Known lane dividers with jam clearing devices have not been entirely successful. For example, several known jam clearing devices rely on continuously oscillating members; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,118. Such an arrangement is undesirable because the normal flow of articles is interupted and slowed down by the continuously operating mechanism. Other systems rely on the machine operator to clear the jam. In such a case, the jam ordinarily goes unnoticed until the article packer ceases operation due to a lack of articles in the article lane divider (or grid).